One of the great performances by an American abroad this winter was Quentin Westberg‘s win in goal for French Ligue 2 club Evian over Ligue 1 defendingchampion Marseille, 3-1, on Jan. 14 in the French Cup.
Westberg, the former U.S. U-17 and U-20 national team goalie, was unemployed when the 2010-11 season began and has since spent mostof the time as the backup goalie. But he took full advantage of the opportunity given to him by Coach Bernard Casoni — former Marseille player — in thecup match before the first sellout of the season at Evian.
An early save by Westberg was one of the keys to the game. “It’s said a lot that it’s always good for a goalkeeper to getinvolved but really, I’m cool when it comes to playing,” he said. “I don’t panic when I get into games. It’s only pleasure for me to play teams like Marseille. It was great to be on the fieldespecially since it was a primetime game televised nationally.”
Westberg’s contract is only for one season, but he hopes to show enough to one day get a chance to replace starting goalieBertrand Laquait, who is 34. “It was a difficult summer and I was waiting on the best opportunity,” said Westberg, who was released by Troyes after eightseasons. “It’s nice to be part of things here. This is a club that is going up and has financial support. I’m just establishing myself here and getting to know more people so moving forward I’m hopingto get more games.”